2025 BSC 5K

Quick update, the company 5K was hosted at the Marlborough campus. The weather was sunny, 70’s. Mile splits were 736, 752, 843 and 744 for the last .15 of a mile. The right hamstring kept me honest and reminded me (ouch!) on the climb back up to the campus that it was tight. Overall, I’m grateful to run an average of 8 minute miles for this one. The official time was 24:54 good for 25^th out of 149 total participants. A BBQ and Ice Cream followed the race which was nice but too soon to enjoy following the hard effort. Overall, $6.4K was raised and donated to The Wonderfund of MA!

2025 BSC 5K and 1 mile race results

Codfish Bowl XC Franklin Park

With over three decades of running, I can’t recall ever running the Codfish Bowl XC race at Franklin Park. It is primarily a collegiate race. This year was the 57^th Annual so it is older than me. It wound up on the 2025 USATF New England Cross Country Grand Prix schedule. Fortunately, Notch Run Club was kept the momentum of rounding up some Seniors based on the credit of interest with having seven men (six 50+) get to the starting line for the 8K men’s race consisting of open and masters. Donnie, Shawn and Krissy arrived with the Notch Tent. They set it up behind the start line while I chased down the team packet from registration.

With the ongoing construction with White Stadium, the new 8K course consisted of running a 3K and 2K loops adding up the 8K in the end. The 3K loop: combined Wilderness plus Bear Cage Hill. The weather was sunny, dry with temperatures in the upper 60’s for the 12:40 start. Our team lined up among at least a dozen colleges and hand full of USATF running clubs.

I jumped out to a 7:10 mile behind a GLRR runner with whom I planned on focusing on. I managed to pass him before mile 2 which a 7:32 mile was clocked. Now the race was on the way to Bear Cage Hill for the second time, passing mile three on the pavement next to the stadium, 7:44. On top of the hill, I asked another GLRR runner, a stride ahead, what he had for a distance thus far. He replied 3.3 miles which is about what I had. I wanted to ensure we were both on the same page and not lost on the new course which at this point runners were everywhere. Mile 4 went by out on the Wilderness loop and brought a 7:54 mile, the slowest thus far.

I rallied a bit with a 7:11 while trying to gain on college guys and keep the GLRR guys at bay.  The 7:31 average pace was faster than my 10K last weekend in Salem. I would say is progress. I covered a GPS distance of 4.97 miles. Gun time was 37:19, 222^nd place out of 241 runners. Overall, it is my quickest pace of any race this year, not counting a 7:11 mile in Hopkinton a few months ago.

Splits: 710, 732, 744, 754, 711

2025 Codfish Bowl Cross Country Men’s Results

 

North Shore Runfest 10K, Salem

Notch Brewing and Notch Run Club was hosting the USATF New England 10K Road Race Championship in Salem. The forecast of cooler temperatures (60’s) and rain was spot on but did not dampen the spirit of over 900 pre-registered runners for the 9AM start on Congress Street. I ran a chip time of 52:49 (8:29 / mile pace) a year ago. I felt that a goal of 8:00 pace was possible with a 5K time trial four days ago of the same effort. 

I warmed up for about a mile before getting into the start line around peers who would be breaking 50 minutes. The course headed down Derby Street, through the Salem Willows, coming back to central Salem taking the mile 3 spot near the Hawthorne Hotel with and average of 7:50 per mile. Mission accomplished but many puddles and only have way done. Heading down Lafayette Street got me thinking about the Salem State College days – a long time ago, seeing the Sullivan Building in the distance before heading into Forest River Park where many xc workouts took place with the team. Mile splits turned into the low 8’s from there to the finish line with quiet back roads parallel to Lafayette Street. 

I crossed the new finish line, now steps away from Notch Brewing with a chip time of 49:36 (7:58 / mile pace). I placed 50^th out of 69 in the old guy category. I felt good about the effort. Good work in planning for, well, I guess some cross country race distances from 5K to 8K in the next two plus months into the fall. 

Splits: 744, 753, 752, 800, 810, 810, 743 (last .24) 

North Shore Runfest 10K 2025 Full Results

Old Goat Track Club XC Classic USATF New England Grand Prix #1

I headed out to Waters Farm in Sutton, MA for the first USATF New England Grand Prix XC race of 2025 season with Donald Withee and Shaun Conway as Notch had six 50+ guys signed up. The Old Goat Track Club XC Classic 5K has been kicking off the Grand Prix over the last few years in late August. The weather was sunny and in the mid-70’s for the 11AM men’s start. I was the last Notch guy heading into the opening woods loop but not too far from Brian Davis (Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School XC/Track coach). 

I got around him after the 2^nd loop in the woods and managed to keep a few runners tracking me in the last mile into the 24:00 finish, 12 seconds behind the ageless, 70 year old Paul Bazanchuk from CMS. I finished 83^rd out of 102 men. I felt good about my race/effort which felt consistent while the splits show slowing per mile with 7:43, 8:00, 8:10. I compared the 2025 race to my 2023 race (24:12 for 3.2 miles). The 2025 course was shorter by 0.17 miles per my measurement as I captured 3:03 miles. I was the 5^th Notch runner for the senior team which placed 1^st in the Senior Team category. Going forward, I plan on getting to a few more XC races this season. 

2025 Old Goat Track Club XC Classic Results 

Waters Farm, Sutton MA  -  8/24/25

5k MALE 50+ TEAM SCORE

1.    15  Notch Run Club 

=======================================================

1      1  JASON WERTZ          20:49 

2      2  BRIAN JUNEAU         20:51 

3      3  DONALD WITHEE    21:00 

4      4  SHAWN CONWAY   22:13 

5      5  JAMES PAWLICKI     24:00 

6   (  9) BRIAN DAVIS             24:56

Lynn Woods Relay 2025

I was leg number 2 for the 4 X 2.5 mile Lynn Woods Relay, 2025 edition. The weather was comfortable, cool for August with the pavement damp from off and on rain. The course was fine inside the woods. Team Notch Cellarman wound up finishing 3^rd in the old guy category and or 19^th out of 82 total relay teams. The combined time added up to 1:11:05 behind 1^st place Wicked Vintage (1:07 and change) and The Bears Plus Two (Bridgewater State Alumni with guest Dmitri Drozdov) just 23 seconds behind. I ran 19:44, 3 ticks slower than last year. Mile splits were: 8:06, 8:30, 6:33 for the last 0.48. My watch time of 19:34 missed the first 10 seconds due to user error. Overall, a great fun event for all. 

2025 Lynn Woods Relay Reaults

19. NOTCH CELLARMEN (125) 1:11:05

  BILL POULIOT               17:05     17:05

  JIM PAWLICKI                36:49     19:44

  DON WITHEE                 53:56     17:07

  BRIAN JUNEAU          1:11:05     17:09

USATF New England 1 Mile Road Championships

I signed up my first road mile in decades. This was the USATF New England Road 1 Mile Championship in Hopkinton, MA. It was first run last year in 2024 and seemed a popular event over the Marathon Championship in terms of participation from the USATF members.

The cool part was that my race would be contested among Men's Masters/Seniors age grouping 40 through 59. The race course was a quarter of a mile away looking like an out and back with some elevation changes. The turn around at half way was an easy turn around an island, not a single cone. 

My goal was to run a 7 minute mile so get to 3:30 at the half. I ran about 87 seconds at the ¼ mile and clocked about 3:28 at the turn around which had a little climb to reach. I was spent on the return. I passed only one runner to the finish running a chip time of 7:07 or gun time of 7:10. I finished 98th out of 104 runners. Pretty humbling experience. 

The race was simple but out of my comfort zone. I ran a few more miles after the race after checking in on the Notch mates on how they fared. I checked out some trails behind the school before watching the men’s open, women’s masters and then women’s open races which was fun to watch as a spectator roadside.

40-59 Men's Masters Results

Video of my finish

Miles Over the Moon 4 mile

Krissy and I headed over to the Miles Over the Moon 4 mile in Salem. This is a Friday night race with a 7:30PM start. I wanted to chill out and save some legs for Sunday’s road mile. Splits were as follows: 8:51, 9:01, 9:21, 9:17. It was controlled throughout the course but still had the heart rate climb each mile to a high of 160 bpm average for the last mile. 

I ran some miles with friend, Al Amore Jr up until a half mile to go. I saw my first Salem State College XC/Track Coach, Steven Zcarnecki on Osgood Street. I gave him a hug as he jumped out when I acknowledged him. Great to see him. Popsicle’s awaited the runners at the finish line. Krissy’s must have handed out hundreds and even mine, grape flavor! 

Full results

Place	Name	Group	Place/Group	Chip Pace	Chip Time	Gun Time
177	James Pawlicki	Male 50-59	16/29	9:15 min/mile	37:04	37:20